Purchasing a Dog or Puppy: What to look for in a breeder
So you have made a decision to add a dog or puppy to your family. Congratulations!
But how do you make sure you’re getting a puppy from an ethical source?
It’s not a ‘black or white’ matter. There is no definitive issue that makes a breeder ‘good’ or ‘bad’.
Instead, here’s a guide which talks about necessities, niceties, and red flags.
Necessities
If your breeder doesn’t do this then walk away…
- Breeder shows concern and regard to the health of dogs and puppies – either in health testing or in the studs used (e.g. choosing old studs that show they’re healthy, using DNA testing, using x-rays, and other relvant tests)
- Breeder shows concern and regard to the psychological well being of their dogs and puppies – either in providing enrichment on site, by frequently taking their dogs ‘out and about’, by using Dunbar’s methods of raising puppies (with toilet area, kongs, socialisation), and preferably a combination of these methods.
- The breeder has a clear purpose in their breeding program that goes beyond ‘breeding pet puppies’ – they may enter their dogs in dog shows, participate in agility or obedience with their dogs, or have dogs that compete in working dog trials
- The breeder’s dogs approach you in a friendly and sociable way. You are able to interact with and handle all dogs on the property. The mother should be available and should show exceptionable sociable behaviour.
- The breeder is willing to provide life-long support to you as a puppy buyer – including taking back the dog at any point things ‘don’t work out’
- The breeder happily shows you all the dogs in their care
Niceties
It’s nice for the breeder to do any of these things, but don’t be concerned if it doesn’t happen.
- The stud dog is on site
- The breeder asks you lots of questions about your household and what you’re looking for
- There is a sales contract that goes beyond simple money exchange
- The breeder can show registration or affiliation to an organisation with a code of conduct/ethics
- The breeder can recite pedigrees and seems to be oozing with knowledge about the breed
Red Flags
If any of these items take place, you may want to reconsider purchasing an animal from this breeder.
- The puppies are not vaccinated
- The breeder seems overly concerned about the purchase price
- Not all adult dogs are sociable and friendly
- Part of the breeder’s sales pitch is ‘lots of colours available’ or ‘will grow up big’ or ‘will stay tiny’ or ‘rare!’
- The breeder asks for deposits before a bitch is mated
- The breeder sells puppies together to the same pet family
- The puppies are crossbreeds which seem to have no real purpose (ask, how do they fit into the clear purpose of their breeding program?)
- The puppies are crossbreeds and are given a fancy name like ‘labradoodle’ or ‘spanador’.
- The breeder does seem to be putting the hard sell on you – they’re saying “if you put a deposit down today, I’ll take $100 off the asking price” or “If you don’t buy him now, I have someone coming at 2 o’clock who will buy him”.
- The breeder breeds more than 3 different breeds of dogs
Do Not Buys!
If a breeder performs any of the following points, then do not purchase a puppy and look elsewhere.
- You cannot meet the mother or father in any circumstances (e.g. ethical breeders, even if the stud dog owner is interstate that should be able to say ‘you can meet them if you really want to go interstate’)
- Puppies are not microchipped – in most states of Australia, this is a legal requirement
- The dogs or puppies seem unhealthy or in poor condition (dirty, matted, skinny, fat)
- The adult dogs are not sociable and friendly, especially if many of the adult dogs are not friendly
- The breeder is unwilling to show you all the dogs at their home
Is there anything you would add to this list?
Further reading:
Red Flags: Warning signs when dealing with a breeder
How to tell if your dog breeder is responsible
I’m not sure about the take them back at any stage if things don’t work out. There is a woman in our area who is a little addled to put it mildly. She only wants a puppy. When they outgrow that stage she takes it back to the breeder/rescue/shelter. It doesn’t seem fair for the breeder or rescue to have to refund the money but she insists on it.
Jan, that’s an issue with the puppy buyer, not with the breeders in question. The breeders are doing good to take back their pet – I’m sure they wish they never sold to them in the first place!
I can see no reason on Earth why cross-breed with no specific purpose (other than family dog), or cross-breeds with fancy names, would be red flags. Not more than pure-breds with no specific ppurpose (other than family dog), or pure-breds with fancy names. Cross-breeding is not a disease… it is even genetically healthy, everything else equal.
A genetic red flag is when a breeder engage in any sort of inbreeding (including line-breeding) and are concerned with meeting breed standards rather than the breeding primarily for health, temperament and the genetic diversity that is necessary for any breed to thrive in the long term and be free of heretary diseases. I would move “dog shows” from green flags down into the red flags, if by dog shows you mean conformity shows.
If there is an individual breeding cross breeds, then it’s likely that they are a backyard breeder or puppy farm. The ‘red flag’ is just to take a moment and reconsider, not necessarily an absolute no-go. I have never met anyone breeding crossbreed dogs to do so in ethical ways (except perhaps guide dog breeders and working dog breeders, and that’s only a maybe). Because of my experience of never meeting an ethical cross-breeder, I put them in a red flag category. The practice of crossbreeding is not in itself unethical, but it’s typically a practice performed by unethical, novice, or inexperienced people.
You’ll notice my first ‘necessity’ is to do health testing, and necessities also include dogs that are ‘happy and sociable’ (having good temperament). How a breeder achieves health and good temperament (e.g. inbreeding or otherwise) is not hugely problematic to a pet owner. If they know about inbreeding and avoiding it, then they’re probably well beyond reading this post.
Thanks for the list! I’m sure it will come in handy one day. One thing I was wondering is how do you actually find good breeders? When I first started looking for a puppy over 10 years ago I looked through advertisements in the newspaper, but found that these were mostly backyard breeders/hobby breeders. I ended up rescuing my first dog from the local animal shelter.
Since then I started puppy raising at a guide dog school and I’ve noticed changes in the breeds/crossbreeds during my time there. Interesting enough if you look at the pictures of the graduates on the walls at the school you can see a change in the breeds dating back to the 1950′s. German Shepherds were the breed of choice back then and you can see shifts to Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, and Poodles.
Anyhow I brought this up because recently I’ve been seeing a lot of Labrador Retriever/Golden Retriever crosses come from the school. I don’t pretend to know a lot about breeding, but what I’ve heard is the school is always looking for the best combination of temperament, intelligence, size, etc in a breed/cross breed that can work as guide dogs.
Hi Colby.
Finding appropriate breeder listings depends on your location.
In Australia, I recommend DogzOnline.com.au for purebred dog breeder listings.
Thanks. I’m guessing the equivalent here would be the American Kennel Club for finding breeder listings.
Great post! Really informative as my family is looking to find a dog for our family. I specifically found the redflags useful.